Jammu Plays

Playwright : Pt. Natharam Sharma Gaur
Director : Dr. Umesh Chand Sharma
Group : Sri Sri Narhari Seva Sansthan, Vrindavan, U.P.
Language : Hindi
Duration: 90 mins

Play 

The story of Satyavan and Savitri, in Indian mythology has left a deep impact on the mass. This is the best story of ‘Pativrata dharm’. When Savitri, the only child of King Ashwapati of Bhadra country, reached her youth, a suitable groom was searched for her, but no prince was found worthy of Savitri. Seeing Satyavan, the son of King Dyumtsen, whose kingdom had been usurped by a neighboring king, and who lived in a hut in the forest with his wife, Queen Sadhvi, Savitri proposed to him. Though Sage Narada warns Savitri’s father that Satyavan has only 1 more year left to live, Satyavan and Savitri get married due to Savitri’s unwavering determination. After one year passed, one day while cutting woods from the tree, Satyavan felt pain. Savitri sits with her husband’s head on her lap. Yamdoots return after being impressed by her ‘Pativrat’. Then Yamraj himself comes to take his life. Savitri also starts following Yamraj. Impressed by her tenacity, loyalty and devotion, when Yamraj asks her to ask for boon, she asks for her father-in-law’s eye sight be back as the first boon, the return of their kingdom as the second boon and as the third boon, for herself, she asks for having 100 sons. Yamraj says – it will happen like this. On this Savitri said that you are taking my husband away, how will I be the mother of sons? In the end, keeping his promise, Yamraj returns Satyavan’s life. In this way, Savitri snatches her husband back from the hands of death by her chastity and Pativrata Dharma.

Director’s Note

Nautanki Satyavan-Savitri is a very assertive composition, composed in folk theater drama style of North India. So far, it has been staged in various regions of the country by the eminent artistes, but the more often, this outdoor drama is staged and is seen by the audience, the more it appears in new surroundings. This Nautanki, full of lofty expressions, has been invited by the National School of Drama for performance in the 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2023. All our actors are very excited. The audience and the artistes and our organization, will all be specially benefited by the performance being presented. Being Impressed by the theme of this story, based on devotion and emotion, even today, every year the festival of Vat Savitri Vrat is celebrated with great enthusiasm on the new moon day (Amavasya) of Jyeshtha month, by the married women of North India, and on the full moon day (Poornima) of Jyeshtha month, by the married women of South India. Iti Shubham…

Director

Dr. Umesh Chand Sharma was born in Vrindavan, District Mathura U.P. on 12 August 1956 in the family of Shri Madhav Prasad Sharma and Smt. Sushila Devi. He completed his M.A. in Hindi Literature and Philosophy, and Ph.D. in Vrindavan itself. After serving as Head of the Hindi Department in Vrindavan’s Sanskrit College for 30 years, retired from there. He has helped many, complet research work based on the stories of Braj region’s folk drama, and other genres like Rasleela and Bhagat, Swang, Nautanki etc. and has presented Nautanki on stage. Along with this, has done writing work on Nautanki, Swang etc. In 1993, he established Brajlok Art and Craft Museum in Vrindavan. Along with organizing seminars on Rasleela and Nautanki subjects, many plays were staged, in which ‘Mrichchikatikam’, written by Shudrak and Mohan Rakesh’s ‘Ashadha Ka Ek Din’ staged in collaboration with U.P. Sanskrit Academy are prominent ones. ‘Bhakti-Darshan aur Sahitya’, ‘Kamadhyatma’, ‘Braj Ka Bhava Bhoogol’ written by him have recently been published by the National Book Trust, New Delhi. At present he is serving as the Braj culture specialist with U.P. Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad, Mathura where he is making special contribution to the genres of Braj folk theatre.

Playwright

Pt. Natharam Sharma Gaur was born on 14 January 1874 in Dariapur village near Hathras. His father’s name was Pandit Bhagirath and mother’s name was Mrs. Indira. He was a born artiste of music genre. Ustad Inderman made him study art-skills in Swang style. At the age of 16, Pandit Natharam Gaur laid the foundation stone of the Swang Akhara in Hathras jointly with Chiranji Lal ji. With this unique genre, rich in amazing style, not only he adorned the theater in the entire Indian provinces, but also hoisted the flag of the native culture in foreign countries as well. He was also honoured with gold and silver medals several times in the field of Nautanki. His singing of Nautanki, and accompanying acting was so powerful that the audience used to become engrossed in emotions. Apart from this, there is abundant Sangeet literature created by him on religious, cultural, social and mythological subjects. He also had his own printing press. He caused, the sun of Kanpur Nautanki rise. In the Hathras style provided by him, the conversation used to happen in verse only. It is classically ornate. The intensity of singing here, the ups and downs of alap and the inclusion of classical ragas is incomparable.

Group

Sri Sri Narhari Seva Sansthan has been continuously working for the last 29 years on various forms of folk culture and art of Braj. The group has organized many seminars of international level on folk dramas, 10 workshops on Nautanki and Rasleela have also been organized by the Sansthan. The Sansthan also publishes its monthly magazine ‘Braj Lok Sampada’. This magazine publishes research oriented articles on the contexts of Braj’s culture. Along with this, the ancient manuscripts of the culture and literature of Braj are also published by the Sansthan. The Sansthan has established the ‘Brajlok Art and Craft Museum’, in which folk lifestyle, living and customs and traditions have been cherished within. There is constant movement of tourists in this. It is reputed as an important center of Braj culture. The Sansthan has a library of 15,000 reference books related to Braj culture, in which research students from India/abroad keep coming regularly. Tourists are also guided by the Sansthan. The Sansthan has an open air theater with a seating capacity of 300 spectators. Regular programs on folk and classical forms continue on this stage. Theater artistes, and artisans working especially in rural areas are encouraged. Under the aegis of the National School of Drama, a fifteen-day training in the arts of Braj was completed in Vrindavan by the Sansthan itself in 2014 under the direction of Mrs. Tripurari Sharma.

Director and Playwright :   Reshi Rashid
Writer : Munshi Prem Chand
Group : Azad Dramatic Cultural Club, Kashmir
Language : Kashmiri
Duration : 1 Hour, 5 minutes without interval

Play

The central idea of the play (Wath) is based on a short story of Munshi Premchands (Gilli  Danda). The story moves around two friends, living in a village. One among them is a son of a post master and another namely Gaya is a son of a black smith. The son of postmaster goes to school and Gaya works with his father. But in evening both play the game of Gilli Danda postmaster gets transferred to city. Education of his son continues and he becomes an engineer, posted in the area near by his child hood village. One day he visits the village and urges his child hood friend Gaya to play Gilli Danda with him. Despite of Gaya’s unwillingness he   motivates him. Gaya the best player of Gilli Danda in childhood, show respect towards the engineer, the engineer says that I want to recall that Gaya of child hood days. The life style of city has given the engineer a lesion that the diversity is found in the village life.

The short story has been adapted in a play in Kashmiri language. The names of characters, Style, Structure and getup may be different, but the irony and crux of the story remains same.

Director’s Note

The debate on social issues are always being heard by everyone. But their may be no possibility of everyone describing it through their mediums as strangely as a performing art activist or a theatre director, who has such field of working, can describe such issues. The modern social issues of differences among the past and present are most highlighted issue of modern day scenario. Constant Change is the beauty of the universe and no one can deny it, but sometimes changes are coming, in the society, unpredictably. Acceptance of change can’t be ignored but changes on the cost of values are not acceptable. I am glad to highlight a subject which everyone, in his life, is facing. Converting short stories into a stage play are always challenging for directors. I hope my effort will be appreciated.

Director and Playwright 

Born in a farmer family in the village of Repora in 1968 Reshi Rashid has been associated with theatre from 1987. Rashid has participated in the workshops organized by National School of Drama New Delhi, Sangeet Natak Academy New Delhi, State Academy of Art Culture And Languages etc. Rashid has worked as an artist in plays like, Su Yee, Kafan Chour, Gober Chu be Kusoor, Shamshan veerag, Surfe Yage, Fundi etc. Rashid has worked with directors like M K Raina, Nissar Naseem, Arshid Mushtaq and others.

As Director “Hathe Handool” an adaptation of Dario fo’s ‘An Accidental Death of An Anarchist’ won him much critical acclaim through out the country. “Arche Kaal, Phire Thur, Tille Krouch, Pather Ma Phote etc. are some other plays directed by him. He has won many awards such as, Best Director award 2007, best lighting award 2013, best costume award 2009 etc. His plays have been staged in almost all the major festivals of the country. He has written several plays such as Ame Banav Sahab, Pather Ma Phote, Checkdaar pather, Yeme Shehre Kam Us etc. He writes for radio and television also. He is considered as to be one of the best writers/Directors in the present day scenario of the Kashmir theatre scene.

Writer

Born an July 3, 1880 in Lamhi, Vanarasi. Dhanpat Rai Srivastava, better known by his pen name Munshi premchand was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent, and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindi writers of the early twentieth century.  His works include  Godaan,  Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, Idgah. He published his first collection of five short stories in 1907 in a book called Soz-e-Watan. He  began writing under the pen name “Nawab Rai”, but subsequently switched to “Premchand”, Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the “Upanyas Samrat” (“Emperor among Novelists”) by writers.

Premchand’s works depict the social evils of arranged marriages, the abuses of the British bureaucracy, and exploitation of the rural peasantry by money lenders and officials. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 300 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.

Group

Azad Dramatic Cultural Club has been formed by some amature theatre workers of Repora Lar Ganderbal Kashmir in 1988,with the aims and objectives for the promotion, progress, and for the welfare of Kashmiri culture Language by the way of theater. The group has been in four fronts in activities like Staging of plays, Organizing of Workshops, Children theatre activities etc. The group has been active in highlighting social evils, health mission programs, programs relating to women and child welfare and other awareness programs for the welfare of human concern by organizing street theatre throughout the valley.

All the members of Azad Dramatic Cultural Club have been associated with different type of training programs, conducted by many organizations like National School of Drama New Delhi, Sangeet Natak  Academy, New Delhi and state Academy of Art Culture and Languages. The group has participated in theatre festivals organized by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages Sangeet Natak Academy New Delhi etc.

The group has won many awards in its theatre journey in all categories of theatrical forms. Azad dramatic cultural club is the only theatre group in Kashmir having its own private theatre studio and has taken the theatre movement of Kashmir on new heights by its contribution from last 35 years of work.

Creative Director : Arabinda Giri
Playwright : Soma Giri
Concept : Soma Giri
Group : Baguiati Nrityamandir, Kolkata
Language : Non Verbal
Duration : 82 Minutes

The Play

Silence, which reveals instance, emotions, and affections of our turmoil life. The relevance of the story beginning with the absence of the students in the dance teacher’s life because several circumstances of the life of those students who cannot express their frustration, anger, desire, fear, had come out in this story.

Director’s Note

In this lockdown I have realized myself differently in loneliness while under house arrest. Being a teacher I realized that a teacher has no existence without a student. At the same time also the latent feelings of the subconscious mind suddenly came out. Those are the private feelings of every woman. At that time I was acquainted with the latent feelings of several girls. In which frustration, anger, desire, fear everything wanted to come out, and from it the “SILENCE” was born. Then I started my production name as Silence with my students in my house through the residential workshop over the lockdown period.

Original Music Score: Dishari Chakroborty firstly sees the act and asks question about our feelings and he goes through it and created a piece of music Elements: The production used elements of visual imagery, postures to bring many emotions and feelings out.

Director

Born on 17^th sept, 1975 at Berhampore, Murshidabad, Soma Giri started working with Dancer’s Guild, under the magic mentorship of Dr. Manjusri Chaki Sirkar and Ranjabati Sirkar. She Holds a first-class master’s degree from Rabindra Bharati University, majoring in Bharatnatyam, under Guru Khagendranath Burman. She also had the good fortune to have ‘Ambali Praharaj’ as her Guru.

In the year 1990 Soma started her journey to Theatre. She is an ambitious contemporary dancer producing dance performances of different scales. Soma’s work emphasises pure movement that affects the viewer theatrically through vibrant movement quality. She has been working on Kerala Art Form KALARYPAYATTU. She formed ‘Women Kalarypayattu Dance Troupe’, with the collaboration of Guru Ajith Kumar (MMC KALARI KERALA). She is highly appreciated by the tribal dancers during the workshop by her at a school of Jhargram, Ashoke Nagar and Jangalmahal. We participate in Uday Shankar Nritya Festival.

Group

Baguiati Nritya Mandir turned into a 16 – year Theatre group, and to this age, it has gone through the vicissitudes and upheaval of practical and competitive theatrical area. registered on 24^th November 2006, Baguiati Nrityamandir was formed by a young group, lead by Mrs. Soma Giri at Baguiati, a suburban town in Kolkata.

From the very beginning the group always tries to produce dance theatre and other dance tradition based dramas. Now we are trying to bring out new thoughts and break the conventional work. Using symbolic body position, postures, sound and choreography with some objects, it can easily communicate with audiences. We are trying to discover a new theatre language which does not depend on verbal regional languages. We want to break all language boundaries.

We believe art can easily be understood if we use proper theatre language, and are trying to discover an alternative theatre space to continue theatre practice. We are moving to every corner of the India. Now we have 24 members in our group. Few girls work as servant to earn some money to support their family. Baguiati Nritya Mandir is a theatre group of all kind of artistes from children to aged.

Playwright : Pt. Natharam Sharma Gaur
Director : Dr. Umesh Chand Sharma
Group : SriSri Narhari Seva Sansthan, Vrindavan, U.P.
Language : Hindi

Play  

The story of Satyavan and Savitri, in Indian mythology has left a deep impact on the public. This is the best story of ‘Pativrata dharm’. When Savitri, the only child of King Ashwapati of Bhadra country, reached her youth, a suitable groom was searched for her, but no prince was found worthy of Savitri. Seeing Satyavan, the son of King Dyumtsen, whose kingdom had been usurped by a neighboring king, and who lived in a hut in the forest with his wife, Queen Sadhvi, Savitri proposed to him. Though Sage Narada warns Savitri’s father that Satyavan has only 1 more year left to live, Satyavan and Savitri get married due to Savitri’s unwavering determination. After one year passed, one day while cutting woods from the tree, Satyavan felt pain. Savitri sits with her husband’s head on her lap. Yamdoots return after being impressed by her ‘Pativrat’. Then Yamraj himself comes to take his life. Savitri also starts following Yamraj. Impressed by her tenacity, loyalty and devotion, when Yamraj asks her to ask for boon, she asks for her father-in-law’s eye sight be back as the first boon, the return of their kingdom as the second boon and as the third boon, for herself, she asks for having 100 sons. Yamraj says – it will happen like this. On this Savitri said that you are taking my husband away, how will I be the mother of sons? In the end, keeping his promise, Yamraj returns Satyavan’s life. In this way, Savitri snatches her husband back from the hands of death by her chastity and Pativrata dharma.

Director’s Note

Nautanki Satyavan-Savitri is a very assertive composition, composed in folk theater drama style of North India. So far, it has been staged in various regions of the country by the eminent artistes, but the more often, this outdoor drama is staged and is seen by the audience, the more it appears in new surroundings. This Nautanki, full of lofty expressions, has been invited by the National School of Drama for performance in the 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2023. All our actors are very excited. The audience and the artistes and our organization, will all be specially benefited by the performance being presented. Being Impressed by the theme of this story, based on devotion and emotion, even today, every year the festival of Vat Savitri Vrat is celebrated with great enthusiasm on the new moon day (Amavasya) of Jyeshtha month, by the married women of North India, and on the full moon day (Poornima) of Jyeshtha month, by the married women of South India. Iti Shubham.

Director

Dr. Umeshchand Sharma was born in Vrindavan, District Mathura U.P. on 12 August 1956 in the family of Shri Madhav Prasad Sharma and Smt. Sushila Devi. He completed his M.A. Hindi Literature and Philosophy and Ph.D. in Vrindavan itself. After serving as Head of the Hindi Department in Vrindavan’s Sanskrit College for 30 years, retired from there. He has helped many, complet research work based on the stories of Braj region’s folk drama, and other genres like Rasleela and Bhagat, Swang, Nautanki etc. and has presented Nautanki on stage. Along with this, has done writing work on Nautanki, Swang etc. In 1993, he established Brajlok Art and Craft Museum in Vrindavan. Along with organizing seminars on Rasleela and Nautanki subjects, many plays were staged, in which ‘Mrichchikatikam’, written by Shudrak and Mohan Rakesh’s ‘Ashadha Ka Ek Din’ staged in collaboration with U.P. Sanskrit Academy are prominent ones. ‘Bhakti-Darshan aur Sahitya’, ‘Kamadhyatma’, ‘Braj Ka Bhava Bhoogol’ written by him have recently been published by the National Book Trust, New Delhi. At present he is serving as the Braj culture specialist with U.P. Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad, Mathura where is making special contribution to the genres of Braj folk theatre.

Playwright

Pt. Natharam Sharma Gaur was born on 14 January 1874 in Dariapur village near Hathras. His father’s name was Pandit Bhagirath and mother’s name was Mrs. Indira. He was a born artiste of music genre. Ustad Inderman made him study art-skills in Swang style. At the age of 16, Pandit Natharam Gaur laid the foundation stone of the Swang Akhara in Hathras jointly with Chiranji Lal ji. With this unique genre, rich in amazing style, not only he adorned the theater in the entire Indian provinces, but also hoisted the flag of the native culture in foreign countries. He was also honoured with gold and silver medals several times in the field of Nautanki. His singing of Nautanki, and accompanying acting was so powerful that the audience used to become engrossed in emotions. Apart from this, there is abundant Sangeet literature created by him on religious, cultural, social and mythological subjects. He also had his own printing press. He caused, the sun of Kanpur Nautanki rise. In the Hathras style provided by him, the conversation used to happen in verse only. It is classically ornate. The intensity of singing here, the ups and downs of alap and the inclusion of classical ragas is incomparable.

Group

Shree Shree Narhari Seva Sansthan has been continuously working for the last 29 years on various forms of folk culture and art of Braj. The group has organized many seminars of international level on folk dramas, 10 workshops on Nautanki and Rasleela have also been organized by the Sansthan. The Sansthan also publishes its monthly magazine ‘Braj Lok Sampada’. This magazine publishes research oriented articles on the contexts of Braj’s culture. Along with this, the ancient manuscripts of the culture and literature of Braj are also published by the Sansthan. The Sansthan has established the ‘Brajlok Art and Craft Museum’, in which folk lifestyle, living and customs and traditions have been cherished within. There is constant movement of tourists in this. It is reputed as an important center of Braj culture. The Sansthan has a library of 15,000 reference books related to Braj culture, in which research students from India/abroad keep coming regularly. Tourists are also guided by the Sansthan. The Sansthan has an open air theater with a seating capacity of 300 spectators. Regular programs on folk and classical forms continue on this stage. Theater artistes, and artisans working especially in rural areas are encouraged. Under the aegis of the National School of Drama, a fifteen-day training in the arts of Braj was completed in Vrindavan by the Sansthan itself in 2014 under the direction of Mrs. Tripurari Sharma.